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<\/a>C.P.de.Silva and Mrs. Bandaranaike<\/p><\/div>\n
The world\u2019s first woman Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike took office after polls in 1960 July. Her party the Sri Lanka Freedom Party(SLFP) had won 75 seats in a Parliament of 157 comprising 151 elected and 6 appointed MP\u2019s. She formed a viable government with the six appointed MPs and the support of a few maverick independents. She herself was not an MP but became a senator in the upper House. As the years progressed the slender SLFP majority in Parliament became quite fragile. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The SLFP began toying with the idea of tying up with a leftist entity from the opposition to balance the anticipated threat of a rightist coup. This apprehension was caused by the aborted 1962 military coup and also through fresh rumours spreading in 1964 of a rightist junta usurping power. A Buddhist monk Ven. Henpitigedera Gnanasiha Thero was chiefly responsible for bringing about the fresh \u201crightist junta\u201dscare. <\/p>\n
After negotiating initially with Philip Gunawardene of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna(MEP), Ms. Bandaranaike soon became disillusioned with the idea of teaming up with Philip and began contemplating a union with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP).Although she had earlier charged LSSP leader Dr. N. M. Perera of having \u201cno maraa maru\u201d(killed without killing) her husband the exigencies of politics dictated a policy of strange bedfellows. This unholy alliance brokered by left leaning cabinet ministers T. B. Illangaratne and Dr. Badiuddin Mahmud was the butt of much ridicule. One such example was the new interpretation, \u201cSirima\u2019s love for Perera,\u201d given the acronym SLFP.<\/p>\n
There were 12 members in Parliament from the LSSP. Two members Edmund Samarakkody (Bulathsinhala) and Dr. Merril Fernando (Moratuwa) took up a principled position and refused to join the government. They remained in the Opposition and formed the LSSP-R (Revolutionary) party. The LSSP of N. M. Perera hitherto the largest Trotskyite party in the world, lost its affiliation to the fourth international to the LSSP (R) Three others Dr. Colvin R de Silva (Dehiwela – Mt.Lavinia) , Bernard Soysa (Colombo South – 2nd MP) and Leslie Gunawardene (Panadura) supported the SLFP coalition but opposed ministerial office. Thus it was Cholmondeley Goonewardena (Kalutara) and Anil Moonesinghe (Agalawatte) who took up ministerial office along with Dr. N.M. Perera (Yatiyantota). The CP with four seats also supported the coalition.<\/p>\n
Shackle The Free Media<\/b><\/p>\n
Sirimavo Bandaranaike\u2019s troubles seemed over after she tied up with the largest leftist party in Parliament but new tensions arose because the LSSP nexus aroused greater resentment within the SLFP. The UNP began a subtle campaign of wooing malcontents of the SLFP after the LSSP entry. These efforts received a fillip after the master strategist Esmond Wickremasinghe entered the fray and together with his kinsman through marriage J.R. Jayewardena began an enticement campaign in earnest. This state of affairs was precipitated by the coalition government\u2019s ill advised venture to shackle the free media through controversial measures.As is well known Esmond and JR were the father and uncle of United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. <\/p>\n
<\/a>Esmond Wickremesinghe<\/p><\/div>\n
Esmond Wickremesinghe was then the effective head of the Lake House Group or Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. Former President Junius Richard Jayewardene was the Colombo South MP and deputy leader of the UNP, which was in opposition at that time. <\/p>\n
The issue at stake was the nationalisation of Lake House in particular and threat to press freedom in general.Both Esmond Wickremesinghe and JR Jayewardene being share holders of Lake House added a personal dimension to the issue . The government had appointed in September 1963 a press commission under a retired Supreme Court Judge K. D. de Silva to examine the state of newspapers in the country. The interim report released in August 1964 recommended several measures to regulate newspapers under state control. These included the setting up of a state corporation to take over Lake House. The final report was released in September 1964.<\/p>\n
The government encouraged by the leftists who had a perennial grouse against ANCL proceeded to draft legislation giving teeth to the Press Commission report.The new proposals were perceived by the opposition in general and the UNP in particular as a threat to press freedom. This view was shared by some within the government also. Thus the press freedom issue provided the basis for a convergence of anti – coalition forces. The government was so keen on ramming this legislation through that it began drafting it as soon as the interim report was released. It was strangely enough submitted to the Senate before parliament. The upper house approved it on October 6, 1964 and thereafter it was placed on Parliament\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
<\/a>MHM. Naina Marikkar<\/p><\/div>\n
The opposition presumably under JR\u2019s direction came up with an intricate countermove Two MPs M. H. M. Naina Marikkar(UNP) of Puttalam and Lakshman Rajapakse (MEP)of Hambantota sponsored the government backed bill and scheduled it for the second reading on February 2, 1965.<\/p>\n
This procedure of the opposition sponsoring a government backed motion though rare was not irregular. The opposition motive of course was to delay passage of the bill as far as possible. The government however was totally in the dark about the implications of this move. So chief government whip M.P. de Z.
\nSiriwardene was taken completely unawares when he tried to get the second reading through expeditiously. The fact that two opposition members had already sponsored the bill was raised by JR Jayewardene who went on to point out that as a result the government whip was contravening standing orders. Hugh Fernando ruled that the opposition member sponsorship though unique was not procedurally incorrect.<\/p>\n
The house erupted in disbelief and a shaken government tried to move a resolution condemning the speaker for a wrong decision. Dr. N. M. Perera in particular was extremely harsh threatening a \u201cno confidence motion\u201d against the speaker. This was something like a forerunner to a later instance in 1973 where Dr. Colvin R de Silva warned an embattled speaker Stanley Tillekeratne that he could be removed for \u201csome reason, any reason or no reason at all.\u201d Consequently Hugh Fernando ruled that a Speaker\u2019s decision could not be questioned in response to a point of order raised by the then opposition leader Dudley Senanayake.<\/p>\n
Hasty Bill to Nationalize the Press<\/b><\/p>\n
Now in a frenzied hurry the coalition government introduced a hasty new bill to nationalise the press.Parliamentary procedure was breached again because there were now two similar bills with identical objectives on the order paper. The Naina Marikkar – Rajapakse sponsored bill was still valid and now there was another one. This was duly pointed out by the enthusiastic opposition. A rattled Sirima Bandaranaike government then resorted to the stratagem of proroguing parliament for dubious political advantage.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Dr Colvin R De Silva<\/p><\/div>\n
By proroguing parliament and convening a new session after an intervening period both bills on the previous session\u2019s agenda would automatically lapse. Thus the government could now bring in a new bill. Parliament was to reconvene on November 2. The throne speech debate was scheduled to go on till December 3. The throne speech on November 2, was unusually brief and dealt primarily with the government\u2019s proposed intention of taking over Lake House and regulating the press. The JR – Esmond duo orchestrated widespread protests over the issue. The high watermark of this was a gigantic demonstration in Colombo by over 7,000 bhikkus in favour of press freedom.<\/p>\n
Machinations were on to coax and cajole government members to cross over and for opposition members to unitedly oppose the government on this issue. The prime target was SLFP stalwart C.P. de Silva. C.P. an old Thomian and ex-civil servant had been SWRD\u2019 Bandaranaikes Chief deputy since 1952.<\/p>\n
CP de Silva had worked closely with DS Senanayake -before and after Independence – in setting up irrigation and agricultural settlement projects in the dry zone particularly in the Polonnaruwa district. After working as assistant govt agent,Govt agent, senior assistant secretary and Lands Commissioner ,he had been appointed Director of Land Development in 1949 under the Agriculture and Lands ministry. The minister was Dudley Senanayake the son of DS. Despite his close association with the Prime minister CP fell foul of his minister Dudley over a sensitive issue.<\/p>\n
Dudley Passed Strictures on CP<\/b><\/p>\n
Certain allegations were raised against CP de Silva over allotments under the Minneriya colonisation scheme. A senior official named Dedigama tendered his resignation in protest against CP. Prime minister DS directly intervened and called for CP\u2019s explanation in writing. CP de Silva did so promptly and DS was satisfied.Though the premier was satisfied his son the minister was not. Dudley passed some strictures on CP. He also wanted to ease CP de Silva out as Land development director and transfer him to Kalutara as GA.<\/p>\n
CP de Silva felt insulted by his minister\u2019s action.CP de Silva born in 1912 and Dudley born in 1911 were contemporaries at S.Thomas\u2019 College, Mt.Lavinia (STC).An enraged CP responded to Dudley by quitting Govt service. He adamantly refused to reconsider his decision even when DS Senanayake made personal entreaties.CP retired to his 56 acre farm in Tabbowa in the Puttalam district.<\/p>\n
<\/a>W Dahanayake<\/p><\/div>\n
While CP was content to be a gentleman farmer in Puttalam, DS fell off his horse when riding at Galle face and passed away. Dudley succeeded him as PM and called for fresh elections.SWRD Bandaranaike who broke away from the UNP had formed the SLFP and was preparing to face the hustings. Kurunegala MP and eminent King\u2019s counsel, H.Sri Nissanka approached CP de Silva and managed to entice him into the fledgling SLFP.<\/p>\n
Minneriya Deviyo (Minneriya Deity) <\/b><\/p>\n
As the senior Govt official in charge of the Minneriya colonization project, CP had helped resettle thousands of peasant farmers in the dry zone and was hailed as the \u201cMinneriya Deviyo.\u201d(Deity of Minneriy).Many thought of CP as the reincarnation of King Mahasen.CP de Silva contested Polonnaruwa on the SLFP ticket in 1952 and was one of the nine MP\u2019s to be elected from that party. He soon rose in prominence due to his abilities and became SWRD\u2019s right hand in the SLFP and later the Govt.<\/p>\n
Though widely regarded as S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike\u2019s able deputy and potential successor, It was Wijayananda Dahanayake who succeeded SWRD as PM. What had happened was this. CP de Silva was taken ill after a Cabinet meeting on August 25, 1959. He had drunk a glass of milk in the boardroom where the Cabinet met. It was suspected that the glass contained some vegetable-derived poisonous substance. The intended victim was supposed to be the Prime Minister himself. CP\u2019s condition proved so critical that he had to go to London for medical treatment. It was in this manner that fate played a trick on CP. <\/p>\n
While CP was yet in London, his Prime Minister too was scheduled to go abroad in late September. SWRD was to go to Britain and the US. Prior to his departure, SWRD made arrangements for Education Minister Wijayananda Dahanayake to be sworn in as Acting Premier to be in charge during his absence from the country. Had CP been in Colombo, he and not Dahanayake would have been acting for Bandaranaike. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was shot by Talduwe Somarama on September 25, 1959. He passed away on September 26. Dahanayake was sworn in by the then Governor-General Sir Oliver Goonetilleke and became the fifth Prime Minister of the country.<\/p>\n
<\/a>SWRD Bandaranaike<\/p><\/div>\n
Upon hearing of Bandaranaike\u2019s shooting, the convalescent CP discharged himself from hospital despite not having fully recovered and returned home. But it was too late and by the time he arrived in Colombo, SWRD had died and Dahanayake had assumed office as Prime Minister. The shrewd Daha met CP at the airport and accompanied him to Horagolla to pay last respects to their departed leader. Daha then took CP to the Governor-General at Queens House and got him sworn in as Agriculture, Lands and Irrigation Minister. Events had overtaken and negated CP\u2019s rightful claim to the PM\u2019s post. But his role as minister in the Dahanayake Cabinet was short-lived. CP was ejected from office in an overnight putsch by the new Premier. <\/p>\n
Sir Oliver Deprived CP of PM Post<\/b><\/p>\n
The Unlucky CP de Silva was deprived of another opportunity to be PM in 1960. Parliamentary elections were held in March 1960. When results were announced, the UNP had come first with 50 seats but the SLFP came a close second with 46. The LSSP and MEP had 10 each. The LPP of Dahanayake had only four. Many smaller parties were wiped out. It was broadly acknowledged that the late entry by the \u201cWeeping Widow\u201d into the SLFP campaign had caused the SLFP revival. <\/p>\n
It was a hung Parliament and neither the UNP nor SLFP had an absolute majority. The third largest party in Parliament was the Illankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) called the Federal Party (FP) in English. The FP had 15 seats. It soon became clear that the FP had the power to make or break a government. Both the UNP and SLFP commenced negotiations with the FP. After protracted negotiations, the FP decided to support the SLFP on the basis of an unwritten understanding. C.P. de Silva led the SLFP negotiating team. He told the FP that he drove a hard bargain, but would stick to it. <\/p>\n
It was soon clear that the newly-formed UNP Government under Senanayake did not command a Parliamentary majority as most parties in the opposition were anti-UNP. The acid test was the Speaker\u2019s election. The combined opposition candidate was T.B. Subasinghe. The UNP fielded Sir Albert Peiris. The opposition candidate with 93 votes defeated the government candidate, who had 60 votes.
\nThe Speaker\u2019s election was followed by the Throne Speech on April 22. The government was defeated again by 86 votes to 61 with eight abstentions. Senanayake advised the Governor-General Sir Oliver Goonetilleke to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections in July. The lifespan of the UNP Government had been only 33 days. <\/p>\n
In terms of the Constitution as well as parliamentary convention, the Governor-General was bound to invite the person who commanded a majority in the House to form the next government. C.P. de Silva went to Queen\u2019s House and informed Sir Oliver that he had the necessary majority as the FP was supporting him.
\n
<\/a>Sir Oliver Goonetilleke<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
Sir Oliver Goonetilleke then summoned the FP to ascertain whether the party had indeed extended support to the SLFP. The FP leader S.J.V. Chelvanayagam confirmed it. But Sir Oliver was not satisfied. He asked the FP whether the party would provide unconditional support to C.P. de Silva for a minimum of two years. Chelvanayagam replied that they would do so for even 5 years. Then Sir Oliver said he wanted to consult other opposition parties also and asked the FP to call on him again. <\/p>\n
In the meantime, Sir Oliver \u2018did the dirty\u2019 by formally dissolving Parliament on April 23. He did not consult any other party as he told the FP. Fresh elections were announced for July 19. Sir Oliver\u2019s decision was sharply criticised as C.P. de Silva had sufficient support to form a majority and should have been given an opportunity to prove his majority on the floor of the House. This was denied and thus C.P. de Silva was deprived of the PM post again. <\/p>\n
When FP leaders called on the Governor-General they were presented with a fait accompli. When they remonstrated, Sir Oliver sought to justify his action saying he was not firmly convinced of an SLFP-led majority. He pointed out that Chelvanayagam had avoided a direct commitment to his question. Sir Oliver said he had exercised his prerogative as Her Majesty\u2019s Representative to prevent a potential constitutional crisis and prolonged political uncertainty. <\/p>\n
Sir Oliver, however, revealed his mindset while conversing with the FP leaders by blurting out that he could not allow a non-Govigama man to be Prime Minister. The reference obviously was to C.P. de Silva of the Salagama caste. It was revealed later that Sir Oliver had expressed similar sentiments to LSSP leader Dr. N.M. Perera also. The caste dimension in politics had worked against C.P. de Silva. It was, however, argued by some that Sir Oliver had acted partially due to his UNP background and close links to the Senanayake family and not due to caste bias. Change in Party Leadership<\/p>\n
\u201cWeeping Widow\u201d Sirima Bandaranaike<\/b><\/p>\n
With fresh polls looming ahead, C.P. de Silva felt it was time for a change in party leadership. Realising the vote-winning capacity of the \u201cWeeping Widow\u201d Sirima Bandaranaike, CP launched an \u2018offensive\u2019 aimed at compelling her to take over the party. Despite his seniority CP bowed to the party\u2019s wishes and accepted Mrs. Bandaranaike as leader and prime minister in July 1960. With Ms. Bandaranaike being a senator it was CP who answered for the Prime minister in Parliament. He was the deputy head of cabinet and acted for the Prime minister when Ms. Bandaranaike was out of the country. Apart from his influence among MP\u2019s from rural , agrarian constituencies, CP was also the uncrowned king of the Salagama caste group of MP\u2019s in the party.<\/p>\n
In spite of his pre-eminence in the party, CP de Silva found himself being effectively sidelined under the new dispensation.Unlike the days of SWRD Bandaranaike where he was both the de jure and de facto deputy chief of Govt, CP de Silva found himself only a de jure deputy leader under Mrs. Bandaranaike. The de facto No. two was Felix R Dias Bandaranaike a nephew of SWRDB. When the old Attanagalle constituency was split into two in 1960,JP Obeyesekere contested Attanagalle and Felix the newly carved out Dompe electorate.It was CP\u2019s younger brother the scientist Dr. LB de Silva who introduced Felix to him as a potential candidate. Felix who was known as Felix Ridgeway Dias then added Bandaranaike to his name to emphasise the link to SWRD and contested Dompe as Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike. More importantly Mrs. Bandaranaike began to rely more and more on junior Felix than the senior Percival.<\/p>\n
<\/a>SJV Chelvanayagam<\/p><\/div>\n
Furthermore CP found himself out of the charmed inner circle around Mrs.Bandaranaike. Worse still was the fact that this inner circle around the prime minister were those of supposedly \u201caristocratic\u201dlineage. Even though Low country personalities like Felix retained much influence, a clique mostly related to the Up country \u2018radala\u2019 Sirima Bandaranaike began calling the shots. While senior ministers from \u201clesser stock\u201d languished in the verandahs this privileged clique had constant access to the premier.This powerful clique around Mrs. Bandaranaike was nicknamed in lighter vein as the \u201cKGB\u201d.<\/p>\n
Kandyan Govigama Buddhist<\/b><\/p>\n
The real KGB at that time was the old Soviet Union\u2019s secret Police \u201c Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti\u201d.The acronym KGB in the Sri Lankan context stood for \u201cKandyan Govigama Buddhist\u201d. This KGB clique looked down upon CP de Silva who was left out of the \u201ckitchen cabinet\u201d. CP resented being downgraded by these Johnnies come lately but stoically tolerated the situation out of his loyalty to the party.<\/p>\n
Elements within the party who wanted to undermine CP kept conspiring against him. Matters came to a head when the SLFP Kurunegala MP Jaya Pathirana (who later mounted the Supreme court bench)delivered a scathing personal attack on CP de Silva in Parliament. Despite protest letters by many SLFP Parliamentarians demanding action against Pathirana, no action was taken by Ms. Bandaranaike against Pathirana. An increasingly alienated CP de Silva became further annoyed later by the LSSP influx into the Govt. He was caught unawares by the move. Against this backdrop, the press freedom bill issue rang an alarm bell in the anti-Marxist, right of centre C.P. de Silva. The LSSP intimidation of the Speaker annoyed him further<\/p>\n
The UNP felt that C.P. de Silva was ripe for the plucking and worked on him discreetly. Dudley Senanayake offered him even the premiership which he graciously declined. By mid-December de Silva decided to cross over .A promise made was that the UNP would not field candidates against them at the next general election.<\/p>\n
The following passages excerpted from the book\u201d JR Jayewardene of Sri Lanka\u201d by K.M.de Silva and Howard Wriggins provide a revealing insight into what went on then. <\/p>\n
\u201cJR and Dudley Senanayake were meeting C.P. de Silva through intermediaries. C.P. de Silva was not merely the most senior SLFP MP in parliament, but was also seen, and saw himself, as the leader of a caste group among the SLFP parliamentarians, commanding the loyalties of at least 5 MPs. Should he leave the government and cross over to the opposition it would weaken the newly established coalition considerably. JR and Dudley Senanayake began a long campaign of winning him over and for this purpose they had the enthusiastic assistance of UNP stalwarts who belonged to the same caste as C.P. de Silva \u2013 the Salagamas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was yet another category of disgruntled SLFP MPs those who asked for a financial consideration to vote against the government. Negotiations with them were left to intermediaries. JR and Dudley Senanayake were aware of these transactions and did nothing to discourage intermediaries engaged in these acts of bribery. The money was found from various sources. With the evidence at our disposal it would appear that the bulk of those who eventually voted against the government did so for political or personal reasons; very few took money for their votes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Divided Opposition Closes Ranks<\/b><\/p>\n
A parallel effort was underway to get the motley crew of opposition personalities to close ranks on the issue. These ranged from the \u201cfree bird\u201d Dahanayake to Pottuvil\u2019s Abdul Majeed and the Tamil nationalist Federalists to the Sinhala nationalist Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna of KMP Rajaratna. Almost every entity insisted on tabling an amendment to the throne speech. Getting the divided opposition to agree on a common amendment to be submitted by Dr. Dahanayake was a Himalayan task.<\/p>\n
As these moves were on the government became alerted to it. Dr. Colvin R de Silva a close relative of C. P. de Silva was chosen by the government to approach the latter directly and inquire from him the truth. C. P. de Silva denied the whole thing. A satisfied Colvin assured the government in turn that there was no such danger of CP crossing over.<\/p>\n
The government thereafter did not suspect anything and took matters easy until D-day on December 3.December 3 dawned. Rumours of a massive defection began to circulate . Mrs. Bandaranaike was alerted only when C. P. de Silva\u2019s resignation letter reached her in the morning. He had been firm that the Prime minister should be informed of his impending crossover before hand.<\/p>\n
A frantic Bandaranaike came over to parliament in the afternoon and began meeting potential defectors individually.She began trying to persuade them to reconsider their decision. It is said that her last ditch efforts succeeded in making at least two MPs planning to defect reconsider their decision.Three other MP\u2019s kept away at voting time presumably due to Mrs.Bandaranaike. <\/p>\n
<\/a>Dr NM Perera<\/p><\/div>\n
MEP leader Philip Gunawardena was speaking when CP de Silva entered the chamber. Instead of taking his usual seat on the Govt side CP walked purposefully to the other side of the treasury benches. While the Govt side looked on aghast the opposition MP\u2019s began thumping tables and cheering. At the appropriate moment CP de Silva got up to speak amid pindrop silence.<\/p>\n
Earlier the UNP had not wanted C. P. de Silva to drag the issue by making a lengthy speech prior to his cross over as that could have given more time to Mrs. Bandaranaike to rally and consolidate. But the old trooper had insisted on making a speech. A shorter version was supplied by Esmond Wickremasinghe to CP to expedite matters. The speech was purportedly written by the then Observer editor Ernest Corea.<\/p>\n
Live as a Free Man in a Free Society<\/b><\/p>\n
C. P. de Silva said in his speech \u201cIt is my painful duty to state, and I do so in all responsibility, that from what I have known, what I have heard, and what I have seen in the inner councils of the Coalition Government of Mrs. Bandaranaike, our nation is now being inexorably pushed towards unadulterated totalitarianism\u201d. Pointing out the offices he held in the party and Govt, CP observed pithily \u201cI am foregoing all this today in order to live as a free man in a free society\u201d. He ended his historic speech at 5.47 pm .<\/p>\n
C. P. de Silva was followed by another southern stalwart Mahanama Samaraweera who spoke immediately thereafter. Mahanama the father of Mangala Samaraweera was the MP for Matara then. He had been earlier the minister Local Govt and Housing.Later he was made minister of communications. After the LSSP joined the Govt the communications ministry was given to LSSP Agalawatte MP Anil Moonesinghe.Mahanama Samaraweera was given the posts and telecommunications ministry. He resigned as minister on June 14th 1964 just three days after being sworn in .<\/p>\n
After CP de Silva and Mahanama Samaraweera delivered their speeches came the others one by one starting from S. B. Lenawa of Kekirawa. Each MP made a brief statement indicating he was defecting from the Govt. Altogether 14 MPs inclusive of C. P. de Silva crossed over to opposition ranks on that day. One of them was an Appointed MP R.Singleton-Salmon. Another was the veteran Muslim MP from Colombo Central Sir Razeek Fareed. It is noteworthy that apart from Sir Razeek and Singleton \u2013 Salmon , a majority of the twelve Sinhala MP\u2019s belonged to non \u2013 Govigama caste groups.<\/p>\n
The Fourteen MP\u2019s who defected from the SLFP Govt of Mrs.Sirima Bandaranaike on December 3rd 1964 and the electorates they represented were as follows-<\/p>\n
1. Charles Percival de Silva (Minneriya)
\n2. Mahanama Samaraweera (Matara)
\n3. P.P.Wickremasooriya (Devinuwara)
\n4. Wijebahu Wijesinghe (Mirigama)
\n5. Edmund Wijesuriya (Maskeliya)
\n6. A.H. de Silva (Polonnaruwa)
\n7. Indrasena de Zoysa (Amparai)
\n8. Chandrasena Munaweera (Rattota)
\n9. W.G.M. Albert Silva (Moneragala)
\n10. S.B.Lenawa (Kekirawa)
\n11. Lakshman de Silva (Balapitiya)
\n12. Dr. Edwin Tillekeratne (Ratgama)
\n13. Sir Razik Fareed (Colombo Central)
\n14. R. Singleton Salmon (appointed MP)<\/p>\n
An unexpected development was when Dudley\u2019s first cousin R. G. Senanayake known as \u201cChina\u201d Dicky rose from his opposition seat and crossed over to the government side praising it for concluding the Sirima – Shastry pact.Ironically it was the signing of this Indo – Lanka agreement that motivated Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman of the CWC, an appointed MP then, to abstain from voting on that day.<\/p>\n
74-73, A Solitary Vote Victory<\/b><\/p>\n
Finally came the dramatic moment. The vote was taken on the amendment proposed by the opposition to the throne speech.The government with 73 votes was defeated by the opposition with 74 votes. The UNP had calculated the winning margin to be at least four but it was a solitary vote victory. Former minister and Kandy MP, E. L. Senanayake claimed credit for this one vote. He was convalescing in England but had flown by plane to arrive that afternoon in time for voting after being alerted by the UNP high command on the telephone.<\/p>\n
The depleted winning margin of the opposition as stated before was due to second thoughts among some government MPs who had decided to cross over earlier. Some MPs had decided to keep away through various ruses instead of formally abstaining. The Independent MP from Jaffna Alfred Durayappah had remained at the Fort YMCA pleading a stomach upset; Another SLFP Parliamentarian hid himself in an ante -room near the parliament library to avoid voting.
\nThe MP for Passara ,Amarananda Ratnayake turned up late after voting was over.His excuse for being late was that he had a flat tyre. This prompted former Communist Party MP for Colombo Central Pieter Keuneman to retort \u201cNot only yours my friend but all our tyres are now flat.\u201dJR Jayewardena quipped \u201cA flat tyre has saved democracy\u201d.Later a disciplinary inquiry was held where Ratnayake proved his vehicle indeed had a flat tyre. Ratnayake contested the 1965 elections on the SLFP ticket and lost<\/p>\n
The Govt in 1964 had been caught napping until the last moment and had been insensitive to the rumblings of discontent within its ranks particularly among senior leaders. This attitude led to a situation where the then government did not take the defection threat seriously until the afternoon of that fateful day. A significant feature of the 1964 December 3, defeat was that although she lost by one vote it was Prime Minister Bandaranaike who still retained a razor thin majority in that parliament of 151 elected and 6 appointed members.<\/p>\n
Some Govt MP\u2019s had kept away from voting by accident.An LSSP MP for instance was abroad on a trip at that time and ignorant of the crisis.A re-configuration of the power balance in favour of the Govt was quite possible.An intensive campaign to maintain a majority in spite of the defections could have succeeded. Besides there was no Constitutional stipulation that a Govt defeated on a throne speech vote should not continue.<\/p>\n
But Mrs.Bandaranaike respected convention and dissolved parliament consequent to a defeat at voting time. In any event the government was at its tail end and had only eight months more in December 1964. It is to the credit of Sirima Bandaranaike that she opted to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections rather than remaining in power as suggested by her Trotskyite ally, the Lanka Sama Samaaja Party.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Bandaranaike in a subsequent address to the nation over the radio condemned the action of CP de Silva and other MP\u2019s who defected. She described CP de Silva\u2019s crossover as a \u201cstab in her back\u201d.Despite the betrayal, Mrs.Bandaranaike said she would respect democratic convention and dissolve Parliament. Elections would be held in due course she promised. Parliament was dissolved on Dec 17th 1964. General elections were held on March 22nd 1965.<\/p>\n
Sri Lanka Freedom Socialist Party<\/b><\/p>\n
When fresh elections were held the majority of the 14 defectors formed a new political party under the leadership of CP de Silva. The party named Sri Lanka Freedom Socialist Party (SLFSP) contested 32 electorates under the symbol of the sun. The SLFSP won five seats.<\/p>\n
Of the fourteen defectors , CP de Silva,SB Lenawa and Edwin Tillekaratne won from Minneriya, Kekirawa and Ratgama on the SLFSP ticket.Edmund Wijesuriya contested Maskeliya on the UNP ticket and won.Mahanama Samaraweera, PP Wickramasooriya,AH de Silva,Lakshman de Silva and Chandrasena Munaweera contested on the SLFSP ticket in their former constituencies \u2013Matara, Devinuwara, Polonnaruwa,Balapitiya, Rattota-and lost. Wijebahu Wijesinghe contested Mirigama on the UNP ticket and lost while Albert Silva contested Moneragala on the Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna ticket and was defeated.Indrasena de Zoysa of Amparai \u201cretired\u201dfrom politics.Sir Razeek Fareed and R.Singleton \u2013Salmon were appointed as MP\u2019s in the new parliament. So too was Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman who had abstained during the vote.<\/p>\n
<\/a>CP de Silva – “Minneriya Deviyo (Minneriya Deity)”<\/p><\/div>\n
The UNP won only 66 seats in the 1965 elections but together with all the political groups that united to defeat the government on December 3, formed a seven party coalition called the national government which became the first regime in post – independence Ceylon to last a full term in office.The Sri Lanka Freedom Socialist P arty was also a part of the UNP led national Govt and CP de Silva became minister of Land, Irrigation and Power. The SLFSP merged with the UNP and contested the 1970 polls. CP de Silva was defeated after being in Parliament continually for 18 years from 1952. He died two years later on October 9th 1972.<\/p>\n
Fight \u201cUnadulterated Totalitarianism\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n
This then is the inspiring tale of how one man named CP de Silva fought to safeguard press freedom and fight \u201cunadulterated totalitarianism\u201d by voting against the government. he himself had helped set up.Re-visiting the story of this spectacular defection is of particular significance at the present juncture.<\/p>\n
DBS Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com<\/span> <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This is an Enhanced Version of an Article written for the DBS Jeyaraj Column in the \u201cDaily Mirror\u201d of October 2, 2020. It can be accessed here:<\/p>\n